Kid Cannabis (2014) Directed by John Stockwell

This movie looks and sounds like a typical lame stoner comedy, starring a bunch of teens but as it turns out, the movie actually is a surprisingly straight one. Can't really say that this approach works out very well for the movie as well though.

And well, it's only a straight movie relatively speaking. The movie still is a comedy and a bit of a goofy one as well at parts but overall, it's still trying to tell a serious story, with characters that we are supposed to care about. In some ways the movie also definitely is more like a 'based on true events' type of drama, kind of in the vein of "Goodfellas" type of crime movies.

Not that this movie ever feels all that realistic though. The movie as a whole definitely still feels a bit too goofy for that, especially that whole start and middle part of the movie. It really isn't until the third and final act of the movie that things suddenly start to turn 'dark' and serious. The balance between the movie its more serious and dramatic moments and its silly and comical moments never work out effectively enough. The comedy of the movie goes at the expense of its drama credibility and the drama goes at the expense of the movie its comedy and entertainment. It really seems to me that this movie either should have been a complete and total goofy stoner comedy or a totally straightforward, more dramatic, kind of movie. The movie now truly remains stuck in the middle somewhere and seems indecisive about what it wants to be. I therefor also didn't really knew how to take this movie. Should I laugh? Should I feel emotionally involved with the story and characters? The movie really makes it hard for you at times.

Another big problem with this movie for me was that about after an hour, I really started to feel bored with all of it. Can't really put my finger on it why but I believe that it has something to do with the build up of the movie and the whole way the story is constructed. About an hour in, it feels as if the movie has reached its peak. The characters are 'succesful' at what they are doing and there isn't really anything in the story that forms a conflict and there isn't a constant over-looming threat, that you know is going to play a big part of the movie at some point. It doesn't feel like the movie has anything more to offer, once it's one hour in, despite the fact that there actually still is plenty happening.

I believe that all of this is also really due to how the movie treats its characters. There basically are only 2 main characters in the entire movie and everyone else really gets treated like a secondary and second rate characters, who aren't given a real back-story and aren't ever introduced properly into the movie. Some of the characters also are only in the movie for about 10 minutes and then they disappear and aren't even mentioned ever again, like they had no real relevance for the story in the first place. This especially goes for all of the characters that are played by some 'big' and well known actors, such as Ron Perlman and John C. McGinley. This all might be fine and work for some supporting characters but for all of them? That's just a bit too much really.

A bit of a mishmash of a movie. The one moment it's all good and fun to watch, while at others it's nothing but an ineffective movie, that doesn't know what it wants to be.

5/10

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